WASHINGTON: US Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman will lead the American delegation to the India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF) to be held in New Delhi later this month, an official announcement said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would be leading the Indian side at the meet scheduled for November 25, which is the premier bilateral forum for discussion and resolution of trade and investment issues between the two countries.

“This is an important opportunity to follow-through on Prime Minister Modi and President Obama’s commitment to use the Trade Policy Forum to deepen our trade and investment relationship and help achieve the potential of our strategic partnership,” Froman said yesterday.

“The TPF is a place where bilateral trade opportunities for the United States and India can be advanced and issues can be resolved through cooperation and constructive, face-to-face discussions,” he said.

The forum would provide the two countries with an opportunity to evaluate progress made on trade and investment issues between US and India at the ministerial level.

Discussions in the TPF are generally organised around key issue areas including intellectual property, investment in manufacturing, agriculture, and services.

India is currently United States’s 11th largest goods trading partner with $ 63.7 billion in total (two ways) goods trade during 2013. Trade in private services with India (exports and imports) totalled $ 32 billion during the same period.

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